Q&A with Sasha Boerma, White Label Casinos: Navigating the Fallout from Google's 2024 Update (Affiliates and Operators)

Over the past year, the online casino market has faced both “critical challenges” (read: disasters, in some circles) and promising opportunities, particularly following Google’s latest update in March 2024, which has further challenged and disrupted an already constantly changing, if not volatile, affiliate space.

Today's guest is without a doubt the right person to walk us through the ripple effects of this update, and shares some nuanced, interconnected perspectives with WarriorLab 's Head of Business Strategy, Adi Hartuv , that may not have been previously considered.

Sasha Boerma is an accomplished figure in the iGaming affiliate industry, currently serving as the Head of Casino & Affiliates for White Label Casinos . With nearly two decades of experience, she has a background that spans traditional advertising and digital marketing, having worked with significant brands like Royal Canin and Unilever before moving into the iGaming world. Sasha entered the iGaming industry through affiliate marketing roles, including leading slotvibe.com in 2020.

A vocal advocate for women in the gaming industry, Sasha emphasises the importance of mentorship and community support among women. She’s also known for her insights on the unique challenges in different gaming markets, particularly contrasting European and South African GEOs.

Based in Cape Town, Sasha continues to contribute to global discussions on affiliate marketing and digital strategy in iGaming. Her ongoing postgraduate studies have deepened her industry insights, helping raise some interesting thoughts and conversations around opportunities missed, or perhaps just overlooked.

In light of the above, the following discussion explores how both affiliates and operators have responded since Google's update, highlighting the options and trends that have risen above the chaos. Sasha assures us that this is not just about affiliates, as we need to lock in our CRM and VIP functions too.

Adi: What happened in affiliation in 2024 - can you give us a quick recap?

Sasha: As is widely known, the big shift came in March 2024, when Google’s latest update targeted the uplifting of quality content. Google’s focus has always been providing the very best consumer content, and this clean-up was a clear example of this.

This may possibly have been fuelled by the pressures felt with the looming speculation that ChatGPT was to launch its own search engine, which beta-tested in late October for a short period. The pressure is on for market dominance in the online space, and this was a muscle flex from Google to ensure that quality content remains paramount to its strategy and key positioning in the online search space.

In this update, sites using tactics like parasite SEO and black-hat PPC - essentially, methods that exploit Google’s policies to gain and inflate traffic - were hit hard. Many online casinos that had been relying on these “quick win” traffic sources saw them vanish overnight, leading to a dramatic drop in acquisition numbers.

This rapid disappearing act could be attributed to it not taking long for Google to catch on and put a stop to these highly lucrative, and arguably the best, traffic sources seen by many online casinos. With these top sources gone, and of course traffic numbers dwindling, what did acquisition traffic look like?

Black hat PPC that is scarcely available to operators, are only working with casinos with the best or highest conversions i.e. click-to-FTD ratios. Congrats to the few PPC affiliates who managed to crack the new Google code and have managed to survive. But the stakes for operators have become higher.

Casinos who are not agile to implement the latest technology or test landing pages are no longer in the running for black hat PPC, even begging for placement with EPC deals (paying a CPA for a fixed percentage of clicks, regardless of whether they convert or not).

It’s interesting how this is shifting conversions solely onto the operator, where previously, operators would always point the finger back at affiliates for low conversions with reasons being “low quality traffic.” Now, they are happy to pay for EPC deals (just saying), accepting sole responsibility for conversions.

Affiliates, in turn, are favouring and championing operators who are investing in retargeting and reactivation campaigns (without shaving these numbers - yes, yes, we know some casinos are).

Looking more into parasite SEO, which previously saw favourable results, this literally disappeared in the world of Google. Note sun.uk, which was once a top source through one of the biggest networks driving massive numbers… was now gone… “oops,” they said…. not even a giant could provide protection, but luckily the bigger network could refund or rebook these placement or listing fees (that did not come cheap).

On the flip side, more authoritative sites that have older domains with forums and quality content saw massive boosts, for example, AskGamblers, Casino Guru, and even non-casino-based forums such as Reddit, saw massive spikes (more about this to follow).

Adi: Considering these significant shifts, how has our industry responded?

Sasha: After the initial shock and horror, followed by the wave of forum debates and discussions, with reams of theories and research being done, some claimed to have found some Google links which were analysed more deeply than the conspiracy theory around Princess Diana’s death. The desperation was extreme.

Affiliates either decided to exit, which were primarily the younger, less experienced or those with low cash flows or inventories seeing a load of retrenchments (not to mention the flood of gut-retching LinkedIn posts).

Affiliates who have been in this game long enough hold the philosophy of, “consistency, logic, and good practice will always win, and survive as the tide will turn.”

It’s in these moments that I am forever grateful to my OGs in industry, they make sense of the mayhem that I am relatively new to. It’s not the first time that this has happened, nor will it be the last, and any of those OGs will tell you that the affiliate game is for those who are in for the long-term strategy - it’s a roller coaster and this game is volatile.

Operators, on the other hand, saw player numbers drop, drastically. Black hat PPC, which was by far yielding the best player value, had now vanished. There is still traffic, but the volumes are lower and unless you bring the best product to your affiliates, you will be last in line. A tough one for third-party operators who struggle to be quick and agile with the sluggish responses offered and the limitations that come with working with third-party software providers.

Finally, the larger affiliate sites that had healthy content and included player engagement, saw higher rankings.

Adi: What did this mean in the context of reshaping dynamics between operators, affiliates, and third-party providers?

Sasha: In summary, here’s the impact:

• Black hat PPC and many SEO sites were obliterated overnight.
• Forums and some of the larger sites were boosted.

This resulted in a mad scramble to obtain player acquisition from a now smaller supply of affiliates, leading to yet another massive spike in listing fees and CPA deals… again.

As mentioned, it’s at a point where EPC deals are being put into place with CPAs as high as €600, and operators are being pushed to invest more budget in CRM and VIP, before getting around to implementing the best technologies (including page optimisation technology) and investing in retargeting and reactivation campaigns.

Each click now carries significantly more weight, demanding that every effort feeds into a comprehensive strategy to not only acquire players but also retain them effectively.

Critical questions arise, such as, why are VIPs only being engaged after their second or third deposit; and how quickly is our VIP team in contact after a first deposit with those players that show potential?

Operators need to act with speed, agility, and cost-efficiency to make these timely moves - yet many, if not most, fall short. Frustrations with third-party software that most casinos are using are proving to be a massive blocker, as these solutions are often inefficient, lack adaptability, and have integration times that are lengthy and costly.

The common discussion between operators looking for a provider with the least pain points is that they're essentially looking for a unicorn. While operators are needing more from these providers, with demand growing, many third parties are scaling back through retrenchments, stretching integration timelines and budgets, and that’s if they are even willing to entertain the operator (who is the client).

While as a market we have some of the greatest tech, our reliance on sluggish third-party providers could cause us to fall behind completely unless something changes.

Hint, there’s a massive opportunity here for a third-party provider to fill this gap.

Going back to the jaw-dropping EPC deals and listing fees mentioned earlier, €600 CPA or a listing fee of €70k, it’s almost impossible to deliver a positive eROI. However, some placements on some affiliate sites may need to be positioned for credibility and brand awareness. Is Marketing part of these conversations and are some of these deals being attributed to the marketing budget?

Adi: Given the ongoing challenges and rising demand for quality traffic, what’s driving the significant increase in listing fees?

Sasha: The days of 50% revenue share are long gone. Operators started to behave badly, and in fact are becoming worse with player shaving and withholding affiliate payments, so affiliates are requesting listing fees to ensure that they are more than covered. And let’s be honest, with the growing demand for traffic and the ever-shrinking pool of traffic sources, they can.

With this latest update, it’s become even more extreme. The largest number one listing on an affiliate site is now going for €70k per month, plus hybrid per FTD. I am not certain that any casinos have the sort of numbers that will show a positive eROI on that deal.

If it exists, they are certainly not exhibiting at any of the conferences that the majority of us frequent.

Adi: So, what’s the answer? What are some of the key strategies that operators should adopt to stay resilient?

Sasha: We are still figuring this out, by watching and analysing trends, and some great success can be seen using Reddit strategies. YouTube is seen to be an underutilised resource and is one to test our focus on too.

The standout lessons so far are:

• Content must be authentic and of the highest quality.
• Content creators and authors need to be credible and trusted.
• Long-term strategies on forums yield better results and consistently outperform quick wins.
• And, as always, player engagement.

For operators, diversification of traffic sources is non-negotiable and becoming over-reliant on a specific source should be avoided. You need to have several fishing nets out to make sure that if one or two disappear overnight, you have others that you can scale up on while you figure out a new tactic to replace your old source.

Encourage testing and development of new acquisition strategies and allow resources and budget in the team to do so. Allow your team time to learn, research, and grow. Hunting more sources hysterically isn’t always the most effective response.

Instead of instructing your team to “go find more traffic,” ask them to reflect on the situation and encourage deeper understanding by enquiring, “What has happened?” and seek their insights by asking, “What do they suggest?” and “What new insights or trends have you read about?”

The questions for leadership don't end there:

• Are your staff encouraged to present new ideas and given the time and freedom to test them and learn?
• Is there a risk budget set aside for experimenting with new campaigns, sources, or methods?
• Does the team culture support and reward creative and “out the box” thinking, or is it constrained, and tunnel visioned by a "well, this has always worked" mentality and approach?
• Is your team developing content for tools like ChatGPT's search function?
• Is your team testing channels like YouTube and Reddit, and seeking insights from leading experts in these fields, and even bringing them on as advisors for your team?

To put it simply, if a listing fee is costing you €40k a month, is a budget of €3-10k for a team of researchers or testers to expand your traffic sources that expensive? Do you think the latter could possibly offer better long-term results?

This also means having quality conversations with affiliates while they are testing their own new strategies, offering learnings, and strategising to build trust and unique partnerships and offerings. Since they are also testing new ideas and theories, information sharing through relationships is key.

There is no better time to hit those conferences.

This conversation has been as enlightening as it has been thought-provoking. Sasha Boerma of White Label Casinos has expertly guided us through the far-reaching consequences of Google's March 2024 Update, which has undeniably forced a seismic shift in the industry's ecosystem. Operators, affiliates, and other key stakeholders have been forced into a whirlwind of adaptation, requiring swift and strategic responses.

The surge in acquisition costs, the growing significance of CRM and VIP functions, and the mounting frustrations with third-party software are all signs of a market under intense pressure. This also often gives rise to exceptional opportunities - let's not forget that diamonds are forged under heat and pressure!

Sasha’s insights have illuminated the critical need for agility, innovation, and a deep understanding of both player acquisition and retention strategies.

Yet, as the industry continues to navigate these challenges, some key question remain:

Can operators continue to rely on traditional affiliate models, or will they need to evolve into something entirely new to stay competitive?

With the challenges regarding third-party providers, will a new tech solution rise to the occasion, or will the industry be forced to overhaul its entire approach to player acquisition and retention?

With so many moving parts, is the current model sustainable, or will new disruptors emerge to fundamentally reshape the industry as we know it?

Disclaimer: The VIP Topics, Opinions, and Insights presented in this Q&A series are intended to highlight individual knowledge and personal opinions. They do not represent the views or opinions of Gali's Guide or WarriorLab. The questions and answers are designed to stimulate discussion and debate within the context of our Q&A sessions. It is important to note that the responses provided here are not to be considered professional advice or endorsements by Gali's Guide or WarriorLab. Before making any decisions related to the Q&A discussion topic, it is advisable to seek guidance from qualified experts or professionals who can provide tailored recommendations based on your specific circumstances. These discussions are for informational, discussion, and debate purposes only.